Nanaimo’s great outdoors are a growing draw for tourists, who come from around the world to experience the sights Vancouver Island has to offer.
“COVID introduced people to the outdoors again and getting out there and getting fresh air and experiencing wildlife again is really eye-opening,” said Angela Caparelli, Tourism Nanaimo chief operations officer.
“Life is so busy now. To be able to go out where you have quietness and solitude, I think that is a drive for people when they’re travelling. Before it was always go to museums and art galleries and go, go, go and I think now when people want to get away from their everyday work space they’re looking for that chance at solitude.”
With Vancouver Island having already established its place as an outdoor adventure destination, Brian Cant with 4VI, formerly Tourism Vancouver Island, said the organization has been focusing its tourism campaigns on responsible marine viewing and clean beaches to meet the trend.
“It’s a trend that started in COVID with more people spending more time outdoors, more time in parks – that’s just continued out the last few years…” Cant said. “There’s a lot of people accessing activities through providers, specifically whale watching, and we’re moving into bear season in different parts of the Island. What we also see is just people recreating on multi-use pathways. So there’s definitely an increase in the number of people using e-bikes and the number of people just grabbing a bike and heading outdoors.”
Cant said the availability of Evolve ride-share e-bikes in Nanaimo has created opportunities for visitors who may not feel entirely confident in themselves to “get a little bit of an assist” on their ride.
“Mountain biking is really popular in several parts of the Island, so that’s another trend that just gets people to be active outdoors.”
Aside from benefiting visitors on the trails, Caparelli said the e-bikes have created an easy way for visitors to explore the city without vehicles, after the Hullo ferry service began offering foot passengers a new way to reach the Island.
“We’re really focusing on the day trips, because with Hullo ferry it’s very easy for someone to come over from Vancouver for the day…” Caparelli said. “People can come over, grab one of the Evo bikes and easily explore Nanaimo.”
Overall, there was a slight slowdown in tourism to the Island over the summer compared to 2023, and in Nanaimo, Caparelli said there was about a three-per cent drop. However, since that number is obtained by the number of visitors engaged at the visitor’s centre and the visitor centre moved to a new location in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, a drop wasn’t unexpected. There has been about a two-per cent increase in hotel stays in the city compared to the previous year.
“I’ve asked the Nanaimo Hospitality Association for the numbers and they did see there was an increase in occupancy from July and August which indicates there is an increase in tourism,” Caparelli said.
Visitation at Nanaimo events also experienced a boost, with higher numbers of people at the Commercial Street Night Market and the Nanaimo Marine Festival. Tourism Nanaimo connected one-on-one with 1,500 visitors between the two events, double last year’s number.
For this fall, Caparelli said Tourism Nanaimo will be focusing on doing outreach for short-term overnight stays, and encouraging visitors who plan to just stay one night to stay just a bit longer.
“[We’re] trying to get them to stay a second night through our arts and culture events, what’s happening at the Port Theatre... whatever exhibits are going on at the museum and art gallery, trying to create those packages.”
Cant said fall is expected to bring to the Island sustained visitation from German, Dutch and U.K. travellers to appreciate the Island’s climate and natural beauty. He said those tourists are expected to stay longer because of the increased distance, compared to their American counterparts who typically visit in the summertime.
“The international travellers are really drawn to the appeal at the national level of Canada being the great outdoors and with wilderness experiences and that’s enhanced with British Columbia and more so down to the Vancouver Island region,” Cant said. “That’s one of the top draws – the accessibility of nature in the region.”
For the year ahead, Caparelli said Tourism Nanaimo will be focusing on drawing local tourists from Metro Vancouver and even other parts of the Island.
“We’ll have marketing campaigns in 2025 focusing on the different trails and what you can do, how you can experience Nanaimo,” she said.
